Degrees: PHD, 1971, Univ Michigan Ann Arbor; MA, 1968, Univ Michigan Ann Arbor; AB, 1967, Univ Cincinnati Cincinnati

Bio:

Professor of Psychology and Department Chair Charles F. Levinthal received his Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Michigan in 1971. He teaches undergraduate courses in statistics, biopsychology, and clinical neuropsychology, as well as graduate courses in cognition/perception and neural bases of behavior.

Dr. Levinthal is the author of 13 books. These include three editions of a biopsychology textbook Introduction to Physiological Psychology (1979, 1983, 1990); a general-audience book on brain endorphins Messengers of Paradise: Opiates and the Brain (1988; Spanish and Japanese translations, 1989); six editions of a health/psychology textbook Drugs, Behavior, and Modern Society (1996, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2010; Korean translation, 2007); two editions of a sociology/criminal justice textbook Drugs, Society, and Criminal Justice (2006, 2008); and a book of contemporary readings in drug abuse Point/Counterpoint: Opposing Perspectives on Issues of Drug Policy. A third edition of Drugs, Society, and Criminal Justice is scheduled for release in 2011.

His research has ranged from work on Pavlovian conditioning in animals to hemispheric differences in human cognitive activity. More recently, Dr. Levinthal has focused on the role of phonological processing in reading. He has developed a promising new screening instrument, the Quick Rhyming Test (QRT), for the assessment of reading fluency. Another current research interest is the role of message framing in communications related to traffic safety.

Dr. Levinthal was selected to deliver the Hofstra Distinguished Faculty Lecture in 1987 and voted by the graduating HCLAS Class of 2003 as the Outstanding Teacher of the Year. He is a charter member of the Hofstra chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and a past chapter president.